TM Forum Details Cloud IaaS Requirements

TM Forum--an association that includes technology vendors such as HP and IBM, as well as more than 750 of the world's largest service providers in the communications, media and cloud service markets--has just delivered what it calls the industry's first set of Enterprise-Grade External Compute Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Requirements. Put together by the association's Enterprise Cloud Leadership Council (ECLC), the document includes guidelines for terminology; requirements for external pr

TM Forum--an association that includes technology vendors such as HP and IBM, as well as more than 750 of the world's largest service providers in the communications, media and cloud service markets--has just delivered what it calls the industry's first set of Enterprise-Grade External Compute Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Requirements. Put together by the association's Enterprise Cloud Leadership Council (ECLC), the document includes guidelines for terminology; requirements for external private clouds in commercial, technical and operational terms; the business case for external private clouds; and sample use cases. It also details how business and technical agreements between enterprise customers and cloud service providers should be defined and managed to maximize benefits for both parties.

Focused on enabling best-in-class IT for service providers in the communications, media, defense and cloud service market, TM Forum created the ECLC in 2009 to provide a forum for enterprise cloud users to share requirements and drive the development of best practices and standards that will remove the barriers to deployment and adoption of cloud services. Its list of members includes Deutsche Bank, Boeing, ING, Dassault Systemes and Northrop-Grumman.

Incorporating the input from the top cloud innovators and thought leaders, this document is intended to create a way forward for the industry that separates out the vital needs from the noise, says Matt Edwards, director of the enabling cloud services initiative at TM Forum. "We're looking to drive standards and best practices around real-world needs. We're focused on what customers really want us to be focused on."

Cloud products, services and initiatives have been coming fast and furious, which is no surprise according to MarketsandMarkets. It says the global cloud computing market will be worth $121.1 billion by 2015, up from last year's $37.8 billion.

Our latest survey shows growing demand, fixed budgets, and good reason why resellers and vendors must fight to remain relevant. One thing's for sure: The data center is poised for a wild ride, and no one wants to be left behind.